Dragon Warrior I and II is one of the better re-releases we have seen over the years. Dragon Warrior game on the Nintendo Entertainment System was quite a departure from the norm. Before Dragon Warrior there were not a lot of role playing games like it available for the new NES console. Enix, now part of Square Enix, was onto something and they were going all out with it. I remember the first time I fired this game up. I was more than a little turned off at the time it took to actually see any action.

Then I was put off even more at how quickly a slime put my character down for the count. It was not till years later that I gave Enix’s first role playing game on the NES another chance. Dragon Warrior I and II for the Nintendo Game Boy Color gives you the sequel too. Enix even fixed a few nagging things.

Dragon Warrior I and II fixes

One thing that is fixed in this Dragon Warrior collection is the naming situation. Erdrick is now “Loto” and Dragonlord is “DracoLord” which is much close to the original Japanese lineage of games. This will mess with English reading games that plan on going back and grabbing Dragon Warrior III and IV on the NES just to see how the story plays out (then there are the fan translations of V and VI on the Super Nintendo).

Two great games made better

Another major area that was worked on by Enix was the menu system. Things are more intuitive in Dragon Warrior I and II on the Nintendo Game Boy Color. Things that were annoying on the NES versions. Also, there is a limited banking system. This allows you to save some money if you die and have to revive. That brings up the saving system. You can save anywhere outside of a battle now, rather than only at certain places.

There is a Super Famicom (SNES for North American gamers) version of this compilation. That version has slightly improved graphics and sound. Sadly, it never made it outside of Japan. Well, officially, as there is a fan translation patch available.

A rare breed indeed

Look, they don’t make role playing games like this anymore. Plain and simple. So if you are into the hardcore role playing games that are not Ultima then here you go.  Dragon Warrior I and II on the Nintendo Game Boy Color can fit the bill nicely. Now, hit eBay or check out newer releases on Amazon and help us out, it costs you nothing (other than whatever you buy).

Carl Williams

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